Seriously Skeptical!
In “Grammar, Grammars, and the Teaching of Grammar,” Patrick Hartwell discusses whether teaching grammar is useful and/or necessary. He debates the question by illustrating five types of grammar. Grammar I is “the grammar in our heads” (Hartwell 211), the rules we know unconsciously because we have grown up with the language. Hartwell illustrates Grammar I in several ways, including the natural way native speakers order adjectives without knowing the grammar rule that tells us how to order them. Grammar II is the “science of linguistics” (Hartwell 215) which form “changes with every new issue of each linguistics journal (215). Grammar III is a misnomer because it is actually usage issues. Grammar IV is school-taught grammar which Hartwell refers to as COIK – clear only if known. Grammar V is stylistic grammar.
I found two things interesting this week. First, Hartwell makes it very clear that he is against grammar instruction. He sites a lot of studies that posit that teaching grammar is utterly useless. According to Hartwell and others, all one needs to know about grammar is absorbed through learning the language. Something very fundamental in my English make-up resists this idea despite the obvious research that is out there supporting the claim.
The other portion of this article that I found interesting was the idea of metalinguistic awareness, especially the little test sentence on page 223. I haven’t delved into my own awareness of megacognition yet, but I know I missed the fourth error. It makes me wonder what I need to do to be a better reader.
This article brought up SO MANY questions. I so thoroughly resist the idea that it is useless to teach grammar and that all we need to know is picked up as we pick up language. Isn’t that argument taking a lot of things for granted? Do children pick up correct grammar even if their environment does not teach them proper English? Where has the empirical research taken place and who were the subjects? As annoying as Grammar II is, I just can’t put all my faith in Grammar I!
charityjoy 
Good response, Charity. 5
I’d say that Hartwell isn’t arguing again grammar instruction. He’s saying that there is no evidence to support formal grammar instruction in isolation. That is, he’s set the stage for others to made the case that formal grammar instruction in the context of the teaching of writing is more effective. See Constance Weaver’s Teaching Grammar in Context.